Timeline of Knights Vigilant
Timeline of Knights Vigilant Lore: * The Grast Campaign (500.M39) - The 3rd Company drives the Eldar of Craftworld Biel-Tan off Grast. It is here where Valus is mortally wounded and interred into a contemptor dreadnought. * Waaagh! Oglug (654.M40) - Abandoned by their commanders and other forces, an Imperial Guard regiment mount a hopeless stand against the green tide in an effort to protect the civilians. Just when all seems lost, the 3rd Company drop from above and tear into the Orks. The Orks are broken when 3rd Marshal Rebel smashes Oglug’s skull. The Guardsmen and civilians are then safely evacuated, treated as heroes by the space marines. * Waaagh! Giteata (364.M41) - Warboss Giteata, more commonly referred to as The Hungry One, launches a full-scale assault against the Legatis Sub-Sector within the Segmentum Obscurus in order to start his very own Ork Empire. The Knights Vigilant's First Company, who had recently promoted Pudis Vardzkan to 1st Marshal, are sent to fight the forces of Warboss. Upon planetfall on Gvasy V, the astartes learn that instead of outright destruction or slavery, these Orks would eat their human prey alive. Enraged and sickened, the First Marshal leads his men towards the wretched greenskins, drowning the orks in their own blood. Though the First Company would triumph against the foul xenos, the trauma of the horrific cruelty enacted by the orks would remain with the Astartes of 1st Company forever. * The Defense of Grauis (998.M41) - It was light in the cycle of Grauis II's cycle about their sun, the world covered in darkness. From that darkness, a Traitor Chapter of the Chaos Gods assaulted the planet, in the name of Chaos Undivided. Death had come for Grauis II. However, the Emperor's righteous fury cannot be turned away from heretics, and from the sky... the Fifth Company of the Knights Vigilant arrived, the Fifth Marshal himself at the head of the Loyalist forces. From the sky, drop pods slammed into the Heretic vehicles, the Fifth Company marching their way out of the wreckage of the vehicles, to the defense of the people of Grauis II. Obsidian Squad, lead by Alvaritus were the first to fall upon the heretics, Fifth Marshal Alvaritus, the Emperor's Champion of the Fifth Company, and others charged from the pod, slaying any heretic foolish enough to stand in the way of their righteous defense of the world of Grauis II. However, being the first down, Obsidian Squad took heavy hits, a large portion of the squad ending up dead at the very beginning of the battle. It wasn't long before the rest of the Fifth Company dropped, Iron Warrior Loyalist Venerable Dreadnoughts leading the way for the defense forces. "For Holy Terra! In HIS name, we fight!" -Fifth Company Marine before being slain by the Traitor Chapter Master. Casualties were staggering for both sides of the conflict, Fifth Company's forces taken down to 10% of their former power. Dead littered the field of battle, be they Traitor, or Loyalist. In the clearing in the middle of the battle, Alvaritus was nearly defeated by the Chaos-empowered Traitor Chapter Master, the Fifth Marshal upon his back, while the Traitorous Chapter Master brought back his power axe to end the Marshal. The Emperor's Champion, the Master Warsmith, and other Captains were too busy dealing with the Chaos Champions accompanying the heretical force. From the battlefield, however, came a Fifth Company marine with an arm missing. "For Holy Terra! In HIS name, we fight!" the Marine yelled, before leaping into the Heretic Chapter Master, forcing him off-balance. The marine, in the end, had his chest caved in by the Heretical Chapter Master, then his head stomped in by his murderous boots. In his rage, he forgot one thing, however... Alvaritus stood from his position, armor and helmet cracked in places, but the Marshal still found the will to stand, grabbing his Power Greatsword. The Heretical Chapter Master had fallen into a fit of rage at the Marine, continuing to stomp at his remains. "FOOLISH WHELP, THINKING YOU MAY STOP THE MIGHT OF CHAO- AHHH!" The Chapter Master was cut off by the mighty Power Greatsword being forced through his back, the Fifth Marshal lifting him from the corpse of the Loyalist Marine that saved his life. Forcing the Traitor down to his knees, Alvaritus pulled his blade out, the swinging it around to make sure he was dead. A clean decapitation, the only fitting end for a heretic of his kind. The battle was won, but not without a cost. * The Devastation of 4th Company (M41.999) - The civil war in the chapter is won, but not without cost. 4th company takes heavy losses waging a shadow war in the immaterium in an effort to oust the traitor Marshal Nelexus the Sorcerer. In an attempt to provide succor to the loyalists, 8th Company intervenes, driving revolting forces from their own hangars, but disrupting the intricately planned operations of the 4th Company loyalists. The traitor marshal escapes, vowing revenge on the Knights, and the leader of the efforts, REDACTED, becomes the new 4th Company Marshal, by decree of Grand Marshal Crabbus, who has silently observed the conflict. * The Purification Massacre (M42.022) - Caedis IV "We shall see how brave you are when nailed to the walls of your capital, your body facing the raging slaughter so you may watch your world die." - First Marshal Pudis, to a PDF Guardsman of Caedis IV. The Purification Massacre was the result of 7th Company's interactions with the citizens of Caedis IV significantly reducing said planet's productivity and enraging the First Marshal, as he believed that the 7th "should keep their hedonism to themselves". The First Marshal, alongside some officers of his choosing - which were Woody, Casten, Azthall, Seraphin and an unknown number of rank and file battle brothers of 1st - would make planetfall at night without informing anyone of it. Knowing 7th wasn't around, they made their way to the capitol building. It was a night of hedonistic celebration in the capitol building, making it obvious that an event was hosted by the planetary governor for the nobles of Caedis IV. Loud music and screams were all one could hear, until loud rumbling was heard within the building. The nobles paid no mind to it, but they'd soon learn that they should have… "BLOOD, BLOOD AND SKULLS FOR THE FIRST!" The sounds of bolt fire, metal cutting through flesh and screams echoed loudly thought the building's multiple hallways and rooms. The nobles and PDF guardsmen ran from place to place, not knowing where the voices came from - not knowing where their death was coming from. Overnight, the population of Caedis IV was reduced to a quarter of what it originally was and the rest either became new Aspirants of Knights Vigilant, or were sent to slave labor camps. This massacre would later be noticed by the Grand Marshal, who would have the 1st Marshal brought before him for questioning. Marshal Pudis was reprimanded for attacking the world without the consent of chapter command. In a duel between himself and Grand Marshal Crabbus, which is rumored to last for over forty hours, Pudis was absolved. Though the details of this trial by combat were never made public, Pudis remained as 1st Marshal and the rest of his company saw no repercussion. * The Vanishing (M42.023) - Serbanoiu Eduard, the Hero of 1st company, reports 4th Company that nearly half the remaining battle brothers, alongside the captain and marshal have vanished. The remaining members of 4th company are left panicked and confused, fearing their leaderless state would disband them, but Grand Marshal Crabbus himself eases their fears, electing a new marshal, Arkerond, who would go on to reforge 4th company into the mightiest it had been in over seven hundred years. The details of the disappearance are never revealed to the company, and it is rumoured that only Arkerond, Crabbus and Serbaniou are privy to this dangerous information. * The Grand Hunt (M42.024) - 4th Company engages in their annual Hunt of the Shadows, where the Astartes of the 4th Company are bid steal themselves from sight, and hunted relentlessly by the psychic pursuers of the weaver ranks. 6th Marshal Sergey is invited to partake in the simulation as a fugitive, and is pursued by none other than the 4th Company Captain Burna himself. Upon discovering this, and knowing that conventional stealth tactics will never overcome the psychic scrutiny of 4th Company command, Sergey opts for an unconventional strategy, boarding the Verum Imperatorem, the famed strike cruiser of 4th Company, where he is able to procure the gear of a Blade, the hunter designation of the company. With their agreed time allocation running short, Burna and his men desperately follow clues leading to Sergey, hiding behind their own front doors. Having found and traced the missing armour, Burna confronts the wearer at knifepoint, only for Sergey to reveal his face after the expiration of the timer. The two, mutually impressed by the skills of the other, agree to host the Hunt of Shadows together in future. * Ashes of Victory (M42.025) - The 3rd Company was embroiled in a war against renegades, Tyranids and Orks on Urao IV. The 3rd engaged and destroyed the Renegades and Tyranids with minimal losses. However a sudden Ork attack threw the Company off guard and forced them on the defencive. Despite fierce fighting, the Orks slowly drove the 3rd back to their base. The 3rd would’ve been wiped out had it not been for the timely intervention of an allied Reaver Titan which broke the Greenskins and allowed the 3rd Company to strike back. Alas, this was a pyrrhic victory as the 3rd Company sustained 84% casualties; 253 out of 300, with only 47 survivors. As a result, the 3rd Company has been forced to retire from active duty until they return to full Company size. * The Chakat Crusade (M42.30) - It seemed that the moment the 3rd Company had replenished their numbers did the calls for aid come in. One contact of particular note came from the Wolves of Retribution, known for their zeal and obsession with fire, who had formed a bond with the 3rd Company. The Wolves requested the 3rd Company’s aid in a Crusade against a foul Xeno race called the Chakat. Eager to be back in the fight, the 3rd Company jumped on the chance and immediately set off to join the Crusade. The Crusade was further bolstered by another Chapter, the Mordekaisers, renowned for their specialisation in siege and armour warfare. There was also one Titan Legion and five Imperial Guard Regiments. The Crusade went underway and by M42.35, the Chakat were utterly wiped out and their home worlds subjected to Exterminatus. To make matters worse for the xenos, the Crusaders opted for a manual approach and burned the planets themselves. * The Succession (112.M42) - Grand Marshal Impartiallus Crabbus XXVIII is killed by his First Marshal, Pudis Vardzkan, following a duel aboard the Shattering Sun. Vardzkan assumes the mantle of Grand Marshal, becoming the third recorded astartes to hold the title since the redaction of the office history. The famed hero of First Company, Serbanoiu Eduard, is promoted to the rank of First Marshal, becoming the right hand of the new Grand Marshal of the Knights Vigilant. In the wake of this change, much of the chapter is reorganised and relegated to ever more brutal theaters of war. The event sends shockwaves through the ranks of the Knights Vigilant, with many elements disquieted over what they consider murder, in particular the Fifth Company and its Marshal, Varidus Alvaritus, who now openly distrusts the office of the Grand Marshal. * Year of the Crucible (114.M42) - A handful of marines of the veteran First Company confront their Marshal, Serbanoiu Eduard aboard their strike cruiser, Contempt of Steel. The events of the confrontation are left undisclosed, but saw the death of one of the marines, and the severe beating and demotion of the other. For the next five months, the entire company is subjected to a torturous training regimen including regular beatings, live fire combat training against the most elite unit in the company, the Carnificibus Squad and repeated lengthy engagements with Aeldari forces operating nearby. By the end of the year, the Company is reforged in blood and the survivors earn the monicker "Warmachines of Contempt." * The Emergence of Magos Domina Venos Arcum and the Gate Dragon (115-117.M42) - Many have forgotten when or why Arcum was accepted into Knights Vigilant, but it is recorded that somewhere between 115.M42 and 117.M42, the Mechanicus Cruiser 'Gate Dragon' emerged from a Webway rift in the Krieg orbit with severe damage and trauma to the hull this was the second time it's existence was recorded on Imperial Records in history, the first being its construction on Metallica. Theories exist that the Gate Dragon was part of a Mechanicus War Procession into the Webway and was the only ship to survive, others state that it may have been present during the Fall of Cadia and was trapped in the Webway by the Eldari, attempting to prevent the Gate Dragon from challenging one of the Eldar fleets bound for the Forge World of Agrippina. The final theory that exists is that the ship was originally captured by the Eldar, before Magos Domina Arcum lead an attack to reclaim the vessel, boarding it just before the translation into the Webway. The Gate Dragon then proceeded to drift in Krieg's orbit until the Knights Vigiliant Chapter's 7th Company were summoned to deal with the presumed threat of the unknown upon the mysterious vessel. The records end there. However it is heavily speculated that Arcum was among, if not the leader of the surviving Techpriests upon the vessel. * The Drukharii Interception of 5th Company (128.M42) - With progress slow in quelling an increasingly more dangerous ork tide, a small detachment of first company veteran marines enlists the succor of the relatively nearby fifth company. The communicae never arrives, however, as it is somehow intercepted by drucharii raiders. The brigands heed the request for aid, arriving clad in the colours of the fifth company, and bearing haphazard mockeries of their heraldry. Distrought, but able to capitalise on the sudden arrival of a new foe, Brother Lieutenant ERROR::REDACTED directs the veterans to strike at critical soft targets as they rapidly materialise on the field of battle. It is a victory for the imperium, but a pyrrhic one. The forces arrayed against this meager agriworld had wiped out over ninety per cent of the planet's population, dooming the subsequent planets within the Kurnian expanse to imminent famine. Great panic ensues within the ranks of the xenobiologians when news of the irregularity of an intercepted message reaches Holy Terra. All agree that the drucharii have become far more bold and insidious in their plots... In response to the actions taken by the drucharii, Fifth Marshal Varidus Alvaritus marshals the Fifth Company and begins to hunt for any drucharii within the region. When asked about his thoughts by battle-brothers and others, Alvaritus stays constant in saying that he will wipe any drucharri that dare use his colors from the sector. He offers no other words, but leaves a trail of destroyed drucharri vessels and bodies in the wake of the Fifth Company. The message is clear: no drucharri survivors, no prisoners. * The Red Wave of Omecus III (130.42M) - A warp storm erupts in Ulitma Segmentum, disgorging a chaos fleet with power enough to conquer the local sub-sector. A distress signal from the now besieged Demeter Sector is intercepted by 1st Comapny, who race to the system to act as a vanguard for the rest of the chapter. Upon arrival, however, the Marshal of First Company, Serbanoiu Eduard, realises that any further delay would spell doom for the defenders. The veterans engage the heretics, now identified as Red Corsairs within the planet's principal Hive City, pushing the aggressors back and allowing the PDF to fortify the entry points. Now desparate, the Red Corsairs send their weaker forces in large numbers of cultists to distract the main force allowing for their veterans to strike at vulnerable targets across the warzone. A strike team of Corsairs makes its way deep into the city, intent on the assassination of the PDF leadership, but are instead met by the Knights Vigilant's finest warriors lead by Marshal Serbanoiu himself. The ensuing combat is so brutal that though the heretic astartes are defeated, the First Company take heavy losses. Following this critical engagement, the ivasion force is left leaderless, and soon diminishes to isolated holdouts across the planet's surface, vulnerable against the reinvigorated defenders. Despite the victory, neither the Chaos Lord nor his body is found amongst the dead, leading to concerns of a second invasion. * Draconis Nox Crusade (171.M42) - After emerging from the Warptides from Metallica, the Gate Dragon arrives over the war-stricken world of Ravilsa as it is ravaged by a seemingly rogue expeditionary force of two sizable Fire Caste Cadres whose objective appears to be control over the capital of Ravis. At first glance this looked to be just desperate breakaway factions trying to wrongfully appropriate resources for their own. However, upon the bridge of the Gate Dragon, Magos Domina Venos Arcum knows otherwise. From unnamed sources she had received a message through one of her astropaths that there was more to this invasion that met the eye. With battle plans fabricated and Skitarii maniples armed with enhanced weapons of war, Arcum's mechanical heart beats with anticipation of the coming battle. However when the discovery of hidden technology deep beneath the surface of Ravilsa is made known, she brings all her resources under her command to finish her terrifying Project 'Dogmatis Engine' before the Tau forces can plunder the arcane tech from under Imperial soil. * Metallican Incident (173.M42) - An emergency broadcast from the forge world of Metallica reaches the Shattering Sun. The signal is a call for aid, but has been badly scrambled owing to severe warp interference. The Grand Marshal delegates the distress call to Mikathraas, the Marshal of the Fifth Company, who dispatches Crabbus from his own Obsidian Squad to investigate. The distress call is, however, simulcast across the Eastern Fringes of the galaxy, where Magos Domina Venos Arcum enacts a campaign of intense violence against Aedlari Corsairs interfering with her efforts to quarantine the rising Tau threat in the region. Begrudgingly, Arcum relents and travels on a cutter of her own design to Metallica, leaving her forces to crush the Corsairs under Magos Forecaptain Trunov. Meeting in distant orbit along a defensive shipyard authority, Crabbus demands to speak with Arcum. The two convene, meeting for the first time, and eventually agree to accompany one another once planetside, where they are tasked with traversing the labyrinthine under-passages of the forge world to deactivate several Death Guard automated drillers, set to release chemical weapons into the underbelly of the forgeworld. Beset on multiple continental planes by the tenacious worshippers of Nurgle in a conflict known as the War of Slime and Metal, the forges have been unable to mount an assault of their own. Embarking with several combat servitors of Arcum's own design, the pair traverse the underways for several days, near constantly harassed by feral stalkers, skitarii and other horrors. The final drill is deactivated, but has unearthed a forgotten facility, housing mad contraptions and marvels not devised by human hands. The schemata is salvaged, along with several data cores and logicae engines. Crabbus insists that the contents be returned to the Shattering Sun at once, but is called away by his Marshal, with orders to rendezvous with the rest of Obsidian Squad in Segmentum Solar. Entrusting the salvaged materials to Arcum, who swears to return them in his stead, Crabbus embarks on his cutter. Though parting on amicable terms, there is an unspoken air of uneasiness to their alliance. Later, Arcum takes the artifacts to the Gate Dragon for analysis, disobeying Crabbus' request in the name of safety for him and the Chapter in case the artifacts were indeed tainted by the touch of Nurgle. * Battle of the Shattering Sun (173.M42) - The Star Fortress of the Knights Vigilant, the Shattering Sun, is engaged in a deadly campaign of void warfare against an Ork WAAAAAGH of monstrous proportions. Left unabated, the myriad vessels of the unidentified fleet threaten to breach Segmentum Solar. Despite the immense power afforded by the Shattering Sun and its accompanying vessels, the Imperials are soon overwhelmed. Desperate to bring a swift end to the conflict, and unable to call for succour from the otherwise dark Segmentum Pacificus, Grand Marshal Anthonius orders a daring manoeuvre to eliminate the Ork capital ship. The gambit is a success, and the Orkz are driven off, but teleport swarms of Tyranids aboard the Star Fortress in hopes of covering their retreat. Unprepared for the cunning tactic, the crew of adeptus astartes and their human auxiliaries are caught flat footed, prompting many sectors of the spacefaring monolith to retreat to fortified cordons. It is not long before the swarm breaches the gardens preceding the Chambers of the Marshals along one of the tallest spires on the fortress. Anthonius gathers his most veteran marines, First Marshal Serbanoiu Eduard and his Captain, Gregorius Kran to lead the charge to push back the tide of monsters. Despite the deftly coordinated counterattacks, the Star Fortress takes three days to clear and is badly damaged. Several sectors are bereft of power or capable serfs, and many vital passageways around the vessel are collapsed. Able to make a single warp translation, the Shattering Sun travels to the Sol system, the first time it has returned there since the time of Grand Marshal Crabbus. Vulnerable, the Shattering Sun limps towards Mars, enlisting repair and reconstruction crews from the Adeptus Mechanicus. Most disconcertingly, one of the clean-up operations unearths the corpse of an Aeldari seer that had been crushed by a collapsed archway. Anthonius, now concerned that he had been goaded into a trap, recalls several veteran operatives from their respective theaters of war, intent on setting them on the trail of the xenos and discovering their purpose. * Recovery of the Metallican Artifacts (173.M42) - Arcum and Crabbus convene on the Gate Dragon and the artifacts Arcum took are recovered, however Arcum eludes to a special weapons program conducted by her own authority, and asks Crabbus to take part as an assistant in testing the weaponry she foretells will destroy the Tau rebel forces in the Raliss System. He reluctantly agrees. Crabbus also tells Arcum of the Edlar Farseer that was found on the Shattering Sun, sending Arcum into a rage. Her fury, hatred and loathing for Eldar drives a deep dagger of motivation into her to personally see to the Eldar problem along with the entire Gamma-Delta Auxiliary Force once her work in the Raliss system is complete. * Dogmatis Engine Trial Run (173.M42) - Arcum and Crabbus attempt to pilot the powerful Dogmatis Engine Titan Arcum had constructed in hopes of quelling the Tau menace in the Raliss System, only to end in horrific disaster. Crabbus was afflicted with a terrible ailment unknown to Arcum while the mind-link was active, and thus is rendered comatose and incapacitated, Arcum rushes him to the Shattering Sun on the Gate Dragon's life support systems. She is put before the first Marshal Court in the history of Knights Vigilant and is found guilty of the incapacitation of Lord Crabbus, her punishment being restriction of projects to work on and forced compliance to use the Dogmatis Engine with a mysterious Princeps from Mars to hunt down the Eldar who may have attacked the Shattering Sun. * Aeldari Hunt Preparations (173.M42) - The 6th company vessel Reverence of Victory and the Mechanicus cruiser Gate Dragon both rendezvous within the Segmentum Pacificus where the attack of the Orkz, Tyranids and possibly Eldar occurred. Accidentally, or perhaps intentionally, Arcum mentions her knowledge of a Webway Gate upon the nearby moon of Vulcanis III in the Stygian System. A place she is evidently reluctant to return to for mysterious reasons, as she has refused to speak any more of the system and has locked herself within the expanses of her personal quarters unless she is required for an emergency. With the second trial run of the Dogmatis Engine being a complete success, the stage is set for Knights Vigilant to begin the hunt. However the jump to Vulcanis III ended in disaster, when the Reverence of Victory managed to translate into realspace, the Gate Dragon and the Dogmatis Engine were left behind. Fragmented astropathic messages were received by the Reverence of Victory notifying the Gate Dragon's Navigator had experienced serious health complications but the message was suddenly cut short. Now, with Arcum, her Dogmatis Engine and her crew suspected trapped and likely soon to be destroyed, the Reverence of Victory is left in orbit of Vulcanis III to re-evaluate its options.